Summary
ManyPokemonfans have been driven to design some of their own custom regional variant critters as they’ve been featured more prominently across the series' modern era, with one fan artist sharing a new design for a Water and Steel-type Octillery variant. Regional variants have proven effective in breathing new life into fan-favorite creatures in thePokemonworld, granting them unique appearances, types, abilities, and more.
Regional variants were first officially introduced inPokemon Sun and Moonback in 2016, though similar concepts have existed in earlier spin-offs throughout the franchise’s lengthy history. In the time since the release of the Gen 7 games, however, regional variants have only become more popular. The Gen 8 games introduced a variety of new regional variants exclusive to the Galar region, butPokemon Legends: Arceusdemonstrated how much further the concept could be taken by using regional variants not just to revitalize certain Pokemon, but also to help build a totally new vision of an already existing region - Sinnoh.
When it comes to fan art and designs, though, enthusiasts of the world ofPokemonhave proven time and again that ideas are never in short supply. One artist among the community - known online as EliDwebster - recently shared a new design of theirs which features a Water and Steel-type regional form for Octillery. Inspired partly by thePokemon’s original beta design, the regional variant’s more armored appearance stems from a largely military inspiration. Features such as its slightly elongated mouth bring to mind the cannon of a tank or anti-vehicle weapon of some kind, though the artist themselves claim that aspects of their design were inspired by the 2S25 Sprut-SD amphibious light tank.
What This Regional Octillery Form Looks Like
Although this custom Pokemon can have either the Suction Cups or Sniper ability, the designer even created a new, custom hidden ability specifically for this design. This unofficial hidden ability is called Soldier’s Creed and sharply raises the attack and special attack stats of the Pokemon if it is sent into battle directly after another party member faints. This would make for aparticularly powerful and widely usefulPokemonability, though the custom Pokemon’s base stat total of 480 keeps its capabilities relatively in check, with the Pokemon carrying a particularly low speed stat.
There’s no shortage of Pokemon that have yet to receive official regional variants in the core-series games, and so many fans anticipate thatnext year’sPokemon Legends: Z-Awill introduce a plethora of entirely new regional variants native to the Kalos region. Unfortunately, though, it’s difficult to say what fans should really expect from the next game in thePokemonseries, with the community still hearing next to nothing about the title since the premiere of its official teaser trailer near the start of the year.
Pokemon
Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.
